33 poll personnel die due to heat wave in final phase in UP

Thirty-three poll personnel succumbed to heat-related conditions during the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha election held in 13 constituencies in the state on Saturday, 1 June, according to Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa.

The number included home guards, sanitation workers and other poll staff.

A voter also died at a booth in the Sikandarpur area of Ballia Lok Sabha constituency, he said.

The voter, Ram Badan Chauhan, who was standing at the polling booth, fell unconscious and was rushed to a health centre where doctors pronounced him dead, he added.

All District Magistrates have been directed to submit a report about the death of poll personnel in the respective constituencies, CEO Rinwa said.

The district administration officials will also submit an autopsy report of the deceased personnel, he added.

Under the order of the Election Commission, the family members of the deceased poll personnel will be given Rs 15 lakh compensation, he said.

A PAC Constable posted at Ramabai Ambedkar ground, guarding EVMs, died in Lucknow on Saturday.

JCP (Law and Order) Upendra Agarwal confirmed the constable's death, saying that coolers and other facilities were available for officers on duty at the site.

He said that the exact cause of death would be determined after a post-mortem.

In the seventh phase, polling was held in Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC) in Uttar Pradesh.

The Election Commission had deployed 1,08,349 poll personnel for poll duty in this phase.